First of four spread over 2 years could be breathtaking next week

If you don’t have binoculars, borrow a pair. If you have a telescope, make sure it’s in good working order.

People in North America are going to be able to see four lunar eclipses unfold during a two-year period that begins late on the night of April 14. The eclipses will occur about once every six months. It’s known as the tetrad.

It’s not unusual to have one eclipse follow another. But it is rare to have four consecutive lunar eclipses evenly spaced in time.

San Diego will be exposed to a second total eclipse on Oct. 8, a partial eclipse on April 4, 2015, and a total eclipse on Sept. 27, 2015.

During this month’s eclipse, people in San Diego County will begin to see the moon slip into Earth’s shadow at 9:55 p.m. on April 14. The full eclipse will start at 12:08 a.m. April 15, and the event will end at 3:36 a.m. There will be a similar show on Oct. 8.

The eclipse of April 14-15 has the potential to be breathtaking. Scientists said if skies are clear, people will see the color of the moon change from a silvery white to a coppery red, then turn back to silver.

“The moon can take on a reddish appearance during a lunar eclipse because some sunlight gets through Earth’s atmosphere, and that light still hits the moon,” said Lisa Will, an astrophysicist at San Diego City College. “The parts of the atmosphere that the light is filtering through are over the locations along Earth’s terminator (the line between night and day) that are experiencing sunrise and sunset. So we’re basically seeing the light from sunrises and sunsets all over the Earth hitting the moon. Depending on atmospheric conditions, the moon can look yellow to vivid red.”

The eclipse is just one of numerous spectacles set to appear in local skies during this year. Here’s a sample of what’s coming up:

TUESDAY: Mars and the sun will be on opposite sides of the sky as seen from Earth, a phenomenon known as opposition. This opposition occurs every 26 months. Mars will be easy to see on Tuesday. Look for it on the eastern horizon at sunset. Six days later, on April 14, Mars and Earth will reach their closest point to each other this year. They’ll be 57,166,149 miles apart. The two planets won’t get that close again until May 2016.

MAY 10: Saturn and the sun will be on opposite sides of the sky as seen from Earth, an opposition that occurs once a year. Saturn, the second-largest planet in our solar system, will be visible as it rises in the southeast. Astronomer Dominic Ford said on his website,
In-the-Sky.org, that “for a few hours around the exact moment of opposition, it may be possible to discern a marked brightening of Saturn’s rings in comparison to the planet’s disk, known as the Seeliger Effect.”

JUNE 7: The gibbous moon will pass within 2 degrees of Mars in the western sky, creating a pretty conjunction that should appeal to astrophotographers. The planets will be visible for six hours, according to
Astronomy.org.

AUG. 12: The annual Perseid meteor shower will reach its peak late on the night of Aug. 12 and in the early-morning hours of Aug. 13. The Perseids often produce the best meteor show of the year. Earth will be passing through tiny pieces of debris cast off by comet Swift-Tuttle. The debris briefly lights up as it hits the atmosphere. The meteors will be visible throughout the sky.

AUG. 18: Venus and Jupiter will come within one quarter of a degree of each other in the morning sky. The conjunction will be visible in the east.

OCT. 8: People in San Diego County will be able to observe their second total lunar eclipse of the year. The moon will start to move into Earth’s shadow at 1:17 a.m. The full eclipse will begin at 3:27 a.m. and will last until 4:22 a.m. The eclipse will end at 6:32 a.m.

OCT. 19: Recently discovered comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) will brush past Mars on its journey around the sun. Astronomers aren’t sure how close the comet will come to the red planet. Current estimates range from 25,000 to 100,000 miles. Scientists are constantly refining their estimates because there’s a small chance that the comet, estimated to be upward of 5 miles in diameter, will strike Mars. Astronomers said the comet will briefly become brighter than Venus during the fly-by.

OCT. 23: San Diego County will be exposed to a partial solar eclipse that will last from 12:38 to 4:52 p.m.